Written Answers Friday 29 July 2005

Scottish Executive

Aberdeen Meteorological Office

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is engaging with the Ministry of Defence and related agencies on the future of weather forecasting services in Scotland.

Nicol Stephen: I recently wrote to Don Touhig MP, Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans to express concerns at the proposal to close the Met Office’s weather centre in Aberdeen and ask him to take account of the success and expertise of the Aberdeen Office and its unique geographical position when final decisions are taken on the future of the Met Office structure. I have asked to be kept informed of any significant developments and my officials are also maintaining close contact with their MoD counterparts.

Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities can charge for assisting with the preparation of food under paragraph 2(a) of schedule 1 to the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.

Lewis Macdonald: Schedule 1 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 makes explicit that assistance with the preparation of food should not be charged for and the terms of the act must be observed.

  We wrote to all local authorities on 24 September 2004 to remind them of this and that they should ensure it is understood by those responsible for implementing the policy.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to recruit dentists in (a) Greece, (b) Portugal, (c) Germany, (d) Spain and (e) India and what intermediary organisations it uses for this purpose.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive does not currently have any specific measures to recruit dentists from Greece, Portugal, Germany, Spain or India as responsibility for recruitment is a matter for NHS boards and independent dental practitioners who own dental practices.

  There is a general understanding that some boards and indeed some dental practitioners have advertised vacancies and recruited from abroad. Candidates from the EU would be entitled to apply for posts that they are qualified for but specific information is not held centrally by the Scottish Executive.

  There has been a high-level of interest from Indian dentists wishing to work in Scotland. However, before being considered fit to practice in the UK by the General Dental Council, applicants from outwith the EU are required to sit an English language proficiency exam and a clinical competence exam known as the IQE (International Qualifying Exam) and this process can be quite lengthy. This latter issue is reserved and the General Dental Council and the Department of  Health (England) are ensuring that the process is as efficient as possible.

Dentistry

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many salaried dentists have now been appointed by each NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: The appointment of salaried dentists is a matter for NHS boards. The most up-to-date information on appointments is not held centrally but will be available from NHS boards. The number of salaried dentist posts approved by Scottish ministers prior to 1 April 2005 is in answer to question S2W-17734, answered on 8 July 2005.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.

Employment

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9099 by Mr Jim Wallace on 30 June 2004, how many people worked in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector, broken down by industry, in 2004.

Nicol Stephen: Further to question S2W-9099, table 1 contains the equivalent data for 2004. However, it should be noted that the Office for National Statistics (ONS), who carry out the Labour Force Survey (LFS), acknowledge that the level of public sector employment in the LFS is inflated as the survey is based on self reported answers.

  Since S2W-9099 was answered the Scottish Executive has developed a more accurate measure of public sector employment based on administrative data and surveys. This was recently published in "Public Sector Employment in Scotland: Quarter 1 2005". In Q1 2005 the number of people working in the public sector was 572,900. Subtracting this from total employment in Scotland, as given by the Labour Force Survey (LFS), gives an estimate for the number of people working in the private sector for the same period as 1,860,100. It is not possible to break down these estimates by industry nor provide comparable aggregate data for 2004.

  Table 1 Employment in Each Industry for Public and Private Sectors, 2004

  

 
Private
Public


Agriculture, Hunting & Forestry, Fishing, Energy and Water (A,B,C,E)
101,000
..


Manufacturing (D)
284,000
..


Construction (F)
188,000
17,000


Wholesale, retail & motor trade (G)
350,000
..


Hotels and Restaurants (H)
121,000
7,000


Transport, Storage and Communication (I)
143,000
15,000


Financial Intermediation (J)
105,000
..


Real estate renting and business activity (K)
207,000
18,000


Public administration and defence (L)
9,000
171,000


Education (M)
29,000
191,000


Health & Social Work (N)
120,000
212,000


Other Services (O-Q)
93,000
50,000


Workplace Outside UK
..
..


Totals
1752,000
692,000



  Source: Labour Force Survey.

  Notes:

  1. 2004 data is calculated by combining the four quarters (spring to winter) of LFS data for 2004.

  2. Industry sections are defined using UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 1992.

  .. Denotes data less than 6,000 and not reliable enough to be published.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of employment in the manufacturing sector was in each quarter since January 1985.

Nicol Stephen: The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source for employment estimates.

  LFS estimates are currently reported in seasonal quarters (spring, summer, autumn, winter). The spring quarter runs from March to May, summer quarter from June to August, autumn quarter from September to November and winter from December to February. Prior to 1992 the LFS was only carried out in the spring quarter.

  Table 1 reports the level of manufacturing employment in Scotland for all the quarters that are available between 1984 and 2005. The latest data are for spring 2005.

  These estimates have not been seasonally adjusted thus year on year comparisons should only be made within quarters i.e. comparing spring 1984 with spring 2004 will give the best estimate of the change in the manufacturing employment level between 1984 and 2004, comparing Spring 1984 with Summer 2004 will not due to seasonality.

  Table 1 Level of Manufacturing Employment1, Scotland

  

Year
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter


1984
454,000
*
*
*


1985
447,000
*
*
*


1986
469,000
*
*
*


1987
436,000
*
*
*


1988
474,000
*
*
*


1989
457,000
*
*
*


1990
467,000
*
*
*


1991
429,000
*
*
*


1992
446,000
*
*
*


1993
420,000
*
*
389,000


1994
376,000
381,000
376,000
366,000


1995
363,000
373,000
371,000
373,000


1996
386,000
382,000
390,000
383,000


1997
380,000
383,000
381,000
384,000


1998
381,000
386,000
369,000
354,000


1999
336,000
335,000
343,000
337,000


2000
328,000
342,000
361,000
357,000


2001
338,000
336,000
330,000
327,000


2002
310,000
322,000
329,000
306,000


2003
295,000
295,000
307,000
286,000


2004
282,000
284,000
293,000
280,000


2005
279,000
*
*
*



  Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics.

  Notes:

  1. Based on SIC 92 which was introduced in winter 1993/94; estimates for earlier periods have been adjusted to be broadly comparable.

  2. * Not Available.

  3. Figure are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been lost in the (a) electronics, (b) textile, (c) farming and (d) tourism industry in the Scottish Borders in each year since 1997.

Nicol Stephen: Statistics on the number of jobs lost are not held centrally. However, data are available on the change in the level of jobs. Table 1 below shows the change in the level of employee jobs for the specified industries in the Scottish Borders in each year since 1997.

  The official source of employee jobs estimates is the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), which was introduced in 1998. Estimates for 1997 are sourced from the Annual Employment Survey (AES). The AES results have been rescaled to be comparable with the ABI.

  Table 1 Annual Change in the Level of Employee Jobs by Industry1, Scottish Borders

  

 
Electronics Industry2
Textiles Industry3
Farming Industry4
Tourism-Related Industries5


1997-98
*
-1,600
-400
+1,800


1998-99
*
+700
-200
-700


1999-2000
*
-400
0
-1,300


2000-01
*
-300
0
+600


2001-02
*
+300
0
+700


2002-036
*
-500
-100
+1,900



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry (1998-2003).

  Annual Employment Survey (Rescaled) (1997).

  Notes:

  1. Data from 1997-2002 are based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992 codes, whereas data for 2003 are based on SIC 2003 codes.

  2. The electronics industry is defined as SIC codes 30.02, 32.1, 32.2, 32.3, 33.201 and 33.301.

  3. The textile industry is defined as SIC code 17.

  4. The farming industry is defined as SIC code 1.

  5. Tourism-related industries are defined as incorporating Hotels and Other Accommodation Types (SIC codes 55.1,55.2), Restaurants (SIC code 55.3), public houses and bars, night clubs/licensed clubs (SIC code 55.4), travel agencies/tour operators (SIC code 63.3), libraries, museums, galleries etc (SIC code 92.5), and sport and other recreational activities (SIC code 92.6, 92.7).

  6. Results for 2003 are provisional.

  7. *Suppressed to avoid disclosure.

  8. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Employment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many manufacturing jobs were created in (a) Scotland, (b) the Scottish Borders and (c) East Lothian in each of the last eight financial years.

Nicol Stephen: Statistics on the number of jobs created are not held centrally. However, data are available on the change in the level of jobs. Table 1 below shows the change in the level of employee jobs in the manufacturing industry in each year from 1996 to 2003.

  The official source of employee jobs estimates is the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), which was introduced in 1998. Estimates for 1996 and 1997 are sourced from the Annual Employment Survey (AES). The AES results have been rescaled to be comparable with the ABI.

  Table 1 Annual Change in the Level of Manufacturing1 Employee Jobs

  

 
Scotland
Scottish Borders
East Lothian


1996-97
+5,100
-100
+1,200


1997-98
+6,500
-1,600
-200


1998-99
-11,700
+900
-1,000


1999-2000
-13,000
-1,300
+200


2000-01
-17,000
-600
+300


2001-02
-21,600
-400
0


2002-03
-19,900
-200
-800



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry (1998-2003).

  Annual Employment Survey (Rescaled) (1996-1997).

  Notes:

  1. Data from 1996-2002 are based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1992 codes, whereas data for 2003 are based on SIC 2003 codes.

  2. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why women over 35 in NHS Argyll and Clyde are not allowed to receive fertility treatment.

Lewis Macdonald: The Expert Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) set out recommendations for national criteria for NHS-funded infertility treatment. One of these recommendations was that the female partner should be aged less than 38 at the time of treatment. NHS boards were asked to implement EAGISS criteria bearing in mind local and national priorities. In a recent review conducted by the Executive, NHS Argyll and Clyde informed us that they provide treatment for NHS-funded infertility treatment up to the age of 40, but that they would not accept referrals for patients over the age of 35. We are aware that NHS Argyll and Clyde is in the process of reviewing their policy and that they anticipate making changes to reflect current waiting times and national guidance.

Freedom of Information

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to carry out a review of Scottish legislation which prevents disclosure of information in order to exercise its powers under section 64 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Mr George Lyon: The Scottish Executive has no plans for a specific review. The issue has been discussed with the Scottish Information Commissioner and the Scottish Freedom of Information Implementation Group and the Executive will consider what, if any, action is required in response to any specific legislative barriers to disclosure that are drawn to our attention.

Freedom of Information

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation which prevents disclosure of information it has amended or repealed under section 64 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 since that section came into force.

Mr George Lyon: None.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many heart transplant operations have been carried out in the NHS in each of the last four years.

Lewis Macdonald: The number of Scottish patients having a heart transplant operation in each of these years is set out in the table:

  

2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


*14
12
11
9



  Source: UK Transplant.

  Note: *Six of these operations were performed in Newcastle.

Honours

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its officials received honours in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2005 as a result of the recommendations made by the Executive and what rank of honour each official received.

Mr Tom McCabe: Honours are awarded by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. All Government departments are invited to assist the Prime Minister in this process by submitting recommendations for consideration. Details of this process are confidential.

  Those Government Department officials who received an Honour in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours are listed in a table contained in the answer to Westminster Parliamentary question 5125, which can be found in Hansard. A copy of the table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 36984).

Vulnerable Adults

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to introduce legislation to improve the protection of vulnerable adults, including the implementation of a register of known abusers of adults.

Lewis Macdonald: A paper on vulnerable adults is currently out to consultation and can be viewed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/1193115/31181 .

  The responses to this will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence, including the findings from the list consultation which took place in 2004. A decision will then be reached on how best to protect vulnerable adults, including legislating, if necessary.